tell me, chat noir
by thelittleglaceon
Summary: "Tell me how much you know about Ladybug," Marinette's tears finally catch up with her and she sobs, "When you're staring at her right in the face." (aka chat confesses to marinette indirectly and she doesn't take it too great) Marichat/Ladynoir
1. Chapter 1

Marinette wishes that she'd worn something more suitable when she walked out to her balcony.

The snow and the bitter wind makes her sweater and pajama pants almost non-existent. She folds her arms together in a vain attempt to recollect her body heat, too stubborn to go back to her room and grab her jacket.

She can only be thankful that the snow hasn't started to pile up on her balcony _yet._

Chat Noir's perched up on her railing, as if he were a cat, with an odd look on his face. Marinette assumes he moved there just for the aesthetic because her mind clearly remembers the shy tap on her window and a small wave from the superhero just moments ago.

Once she saw him, her brain moved her body on instinct - unwilling to think of anything besides from what was going on and exactly why Chat Noir was on _Marinette's_ balcony at three in the morning. (The better question might've been _why_ she was up so late but, in her eyes, that was besides the point.)

"Chat Noir?" Her voice is quiet, "Why are you here so late? Is there an akuma attack?"

"Can I not visit my princess?" Chat laughs but it's evident to both of them how hollow the sound truly is, "I should, however, apologize for coming... My kwa-, uh, a _friend_ advised me to stay home especially in this kind of weather."

"You were planning to see me?" Marinette's surprised, "Why so?"

Chat moves out of his cat-like pose and moves himself to sit more relaxed on the railing, yawning soundlessly, "I can leave if you'd like me to."

Marinette involuntary shivers, "Y-You're good."

"Thank you, princess," Chat sends her a grin that doesn't look _nearly_ as shit-eating as the one he usually has plastered on his face.

It's quiet for a moment, Marinette thinking of what to her unexpected visitor. She'd invite him inside but Tikki fell asleep on her chaise tonight and she doesn't feel like waking up her _or_ having Chat Noir figure out her identity.

"Is everything okay?" Marinette finally forces out.

Chat shakes his head, "No, uh, not really. Do you mind if... Nevermind."

Marinette knows this is only one of the few times Chat and her civilian identity have ever socialized outside of an akuma attack but she can't help but worry about her partner. If he's having a hard time, Marinette will be damned if he doesn't leave with at least a hint of his regular smile back. ( _At least someone will smile tonight,_ Marinette thinks dejectedly.)

"You're welcome to talk about it."

Chat lets out a shaky breath, "Thank you, princess."

"I, well," Chat chuckles again, "It's a bit silly, so you'll have to excuse me for being a bit stupid... I just, we're friends, right?"

Marinette nods slowly.

"I was going to confess to Ladybug," Chat rubs his neck awkwardly, "I-I don't know how obvious I've made myself but I... I'm in love with her."

Marinette's breathing completely stops. She was _not_ expecting this, tonight of all nights, considering she'd just had a long and regrettable fight with Tikki earlier. Marinette's earrings were not in, for one, and she's thought about quitting Ladybug all week long. Besides, wouldn't Alya or someone like her make a much better superhero than _Marinette?_

"O-Okay," Is all Marinette can say.

"I'm just scared she'll reject me," Chat sighs, "She's too good for me, I already know it. Ladybug is gorgeous, ethereal, stunning, courageous, brave, kind... Did I mention how _beautiful_ she is?"

Chat doesn't know it, but the more he goes on the more it feels like he's stabbing Marinette repeatedly.

"She's my best friend," Chat says, a hint of love in his voice that makes Marinette want to cry, "I just don't want things to go weird between us. It's okay if she doesn't feel the same, I wouldn't in her position, but... I don't want her to feel weird."

"Why do you care what she thinks?" Marinette hisses, biting her lip immediately afterwards. What she had planned to say, she doesn't remember, but it was definitely not that.

Chat raises an eyebrow, "Ladybug-"

"She's not even that wonderful," Marinette says, "She's-"

"Marinette?" Chat stands up from the railing, "What's-"

Marinette lets go of her arms and stares into Chat's eyes, her fury with herself becoming overwhelming, "Do you even know _who_ she is underneath that mask?"

"I respect her-" Chat's cut off again.

"Don't you think it's cowardly that she hasn't told you?" Marinette's voice raises, "You two have been partners for over _three goddamn years_! She should trust you enough by now!"

Chat's eyebrows furrow, "You don't know Ladybug, neither of us do. She likely has her own reasons."

"What reasons are valid for her being a _fucking coward_!" Her words are like venom and she feels tears prick at her eyes.

The breath of air Chat intakes is a clear sign he's upset with Marinette, but she continues on.

"If you don't think you're good enough for her, then what makes her special?" Marinette's voice quivers, "The only thing that makes her interesting is her stupid mask! Without that, nobody would ever notice somebody like her!"

"What kind of person is Ladybug then?" Chat's voice is filled with anger, and Marinette is surprised he isn't yelling at her by now.

"A coward," Marinette answers easily, "A clumsy, stupid girl who's not secure with herself! She doesn't deserve the attention of her friends or anyone else she cares about!"

She stares at Chat and notices his demeanor tightens. She can't find herself to care.

"She doesn't deserve your feelings, Chat," Her tears burn her cold face, "Ladybug is no one without that mask."

"A mask doesn't define who we are," Chat Noir says quietly, "Ladybug is still the wonderful person she is with or without it."

"R-Really?" Marinette's voice is steady, loud, she digs into her palms with her fingernails, "You don't know _anything_ about her!"  
"Neither do you, Marinette!" Chat Noir finally snaps at her, "Why are you being so rude to someone you've never met? She's protected you and the rest of Paris and she doesn't deserve your comments towards her! God, Marinette, what's wrong with you?"

She digs into her palms harder.

"I don't know her?" She asks quietly.

"Of course not," Chat sighs, putting a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, "Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you but I won't tolerate rude comments towards My Lady. She's done more for anyone in this goddamn city than anyone else ever has."

Marinette takes a deep breath.

She suddenly slaps away Chat's hand, staring at the surprised look at Chat's face when she does so. Tears run down more violently but she can't be bothered to care at the moment.

" _I_ don't know _Ladybug_?" Marinette shouts, "Are you saying that I don't know her when I watch as she easily fails at everything except for being a superhero? Are you saying that I don't know Ladybug when I watch her embarrass herself at everything she does? Are you saying, to me, that I don't know Ladybug when she runs away from every-fucking-thing because she's too much of a coward to face her fears?"

Chat stares at her, dumbfounded.

"If you're telling me I don't know Paris's superhero," Marinette slaps her hand on her chest as she speaks, "Then tell me, Chat Noir, how I know why she isn't wearing her Miraculous right now. Tell me how I know just how big of a fight she got in with Tikki, her kwami, ten minutes before you arrived."

"Tell me how much you know Ladybug, Chat Noir," Her breath goes quiet, "Tell me how much you know how she hates herself and how _undeserving_ she is of your love and literally everyone else's care and adoration."

"Tell me how much you know about Ladybug," Marinette's tears finally catch up with her and she _sobs_ , "When you're staring at her right in the face."


	2. Chapter 2

**(a/n: someone asked for part two?)**

Marinette's sobs and sniffles cut through the tension and the silence like a grenade. She covers up her face with her hands as her sobs start to become more harsh, more breathy, and overall more _heartbreaking._

Adrien, with his leather cat suit on and the words _"A mask doesn't define who we are"_ echoing throughout his head, stares dumbfounded at his classmate. She's always been a little shy, at least to him, so they recently only became friends despite sitting quite close together for _years_ now. But he wishes it'd been damn sooner. Marinette turned out to understand him, even better than Nino at times, and she's one of the first people that come to his mind when he thinks of a best friend.

There's a clear thought within the midst of his confusion at the situation, it rings loud and clear exclaiming that _Marinette is Ladybug._

But somehow, it doesn't surprise him.

The way she sticks up for herself and for her classmates, the undeniable lack of hesitation or fear when she's in the middle of an akuma attack, and her amount of kindness and love that she spreads to everyone she cares for... It's eerily similar to Ladybug's, the same traits Chat Noir fell for, that leaves him speechless for the mere fact of how didn't he figure this out earlier.

Marinette is wonderful, kind, gorgeous, and what _home_ feels like. Ladybug is exciting, a breath of fresh air, (for lack of better words _and_ a pun) miraculous, and she feels like a new adventure that never runs out of twist and turns.

Chat tries to push away the words she's just said out of his mind and decides, rather than get clarity on this ever-growing confusing situation, to comfort Marinette. The girl he loved, it seems, turned out to his closest friend.

But the words... How could she be so cruel to anyone like that? Much less herself? Doesn't she understand how high she is in Chat's eyes; how much he cares about her?

Of course she deserves all of the love she's got, she deserves more in his humble opinion. She's Marinette, she's Ladybug, and she's all the Chat's looked up and stayed positive for in the past two years.

(The time where his father ridiculed him because Adrien hadn't been able to fit into his new _teen_ clothing line comes to mind. He remembers having his diet become smaller than it already had been, and he remembers talking to Marinette over text after dinner and he remembers finally ending their conversation once they saw each other at school the next day.)

(The time where Ladybug let him cry on his shoulder because his mom was finally announced dead a little less than a year ago resurfaces in his memory as well. She didn't ask any questions, she'd just held Chat for hours on end until his tears finally came to an end. She'd told him to wait there for a moment and brought back a thermos with hot chocolate and some pastries from the Dupain-Cheng bakery.)

Her every word from earlier stabs him in the chest with an even more amount of pain. She wasn't talking about his Lady in such a negative way, it was about _herself_ and that makes the tears collecting in his eyes threaten to fall down. Chat feels like an idiot for getting upset at her earlier when all she deserved was a _hug_ and a warm thermos of hot chocolate.

He stares at her crying form and wants nothing more than to make her smile again.

"Marinette..." Chat finally is able to find his voice, albeit small, "Please, don't cry."

She sniffs loudly, not saying anything.

"Please, look, I get that everything feels really crappy right now," Chat sighs, "But I'm here for you, okay, princess? Please don't shut me out."

"W-Why?" Marinette's voice is shaky, broken, and it's another stab to his chest. "Why aren't you _gone?_ "

He blinks, his throat becoming tight.

"Marinette," He wants to touch her, hold her until all the tears disappear and her freckled smile returns. "Please, I'm here for you. Please. _Please._ "

He's too scared he'll break her. If he even looks at her too long he's afraid she might break. Chat's brain is running a million miles an hour, he keeps thinking that if he _doesn't stop thinking_ he's going to fall over and cry but he needs to be strong for his Lady. His Lady that stays strong for him constantly, his Lady that stays strong for Paris, and his Lady that is breaking down because, somehow, _she doesn't think she is good enough._

Chat's eyes widen with the realization that Marinette said she _hated_ herself and his gasp is loud and audible.

"Marinette," His voice is small.

"Why don't you go away?" Marinette says between loud, anguished sobs, "Just go, _chaton._ "

"I'm not worth your time." She whispers, almost inaudible to Chat save for his cat-like hearing.

"You're not worth my time?" Chat repeats, whispering, "Do you really think that, Marinette?"

Marinette takes a sharp intake of air, trying to regain her breath, and she slowly removes the hands from her eyes. Her face is red, tear stained, and Chat can't understand how people think their love is beautiful when they are crying because all he can think is how utterly broken his heart feels when she's sad, when she's frowning, and how each tear that falls down her face is like a punch to gut to him.

(Marinette is beautiful when she smiles and how she lights up like the sun. She is beautiful when she shows him a new design for clothes, when she's laughing at a particular bad pun, and when she daydreams of things. She's beautiful from her eyes, to her cute nose, and to the freckles of stars on the galaxy that is her skin. But, no matter what anyone thinks, Marinette is not beautiful when she cries. She is _heartbreaking_ and Chat feels as if he's going to _suffocate._ )

Marinette stares at him, seemingly unable to say anything.

"My Lady," His voice cracks as if he were thirteen again, "I... How could you think that? I..."

"It's unbelievable," Chat's voice is sorrowful, "how someone as _amazing, talented,_ and as _fucking wonderful_ as you, Marinette, could even..."

The blue-haired girl's intake of breath is sharp, shaky.

"You don't understand how much you mean to me, to Paris," Chat moves his arm to emphasize his point, "To your parents, to Alya, to Nino-"

She raises her eyes, "A-Alya...? How do you know...?"

Chat cuts her off accidentally, "You're like the sun, Marinette, the sun and the goddamn stars and everything else that makes the world go around. Your smiles are priceless gifts yet you can give them out to the people that need them most like it doesn't cost you a single cent. You've saved my life multiple times - multiple times where an akuma wasn't even in the picture."

"Chat-"

"I don't understand how you could say anything that you just did," Chat's voice breaks, "Because you're wonderful and how the whole world doesn't know it yet is beyond me."

"I can't..." Marinette pauses, tears starting to shed down her face once again.

"It breaks my heart to see you like this, My Lady," Chat finally delves into his urges and _hugs that goddamn girl because he knows more than anyone how much she needs it_ , "Please know that I... I love you, okay? If not for anything else, know that _I_ care and that _you're_ worth all the time in the world to me."

Marinette digs her head into his chest and she breaks down, "C-Chat... I-I don't know wh-what to do."

"You don't have to do anything," He holds onto her tighter, "I'm here for you. Just promise me you won't ever say anything like that about yourself again..."

"I promise."

Marinette is small in his arms, fragile, but he knows that she's unbreakable and it was a mistake to even think that. Marinette is Ladybug, she is herself, and she is everything that Chat loves and more.

"I promise to you, My Lady," Chat whispers into her hair, "that I'll never let you feel like this again. I'll do it everyday, every moment I can, to remind you how special you are. How important you are to me, Marinette. I'll never let you forget it."

"...Thank you, chaton," Marinette eases into his embrace and holds him as if he were the most precious thing in the world and Chat's heart about _breaks._

He can't explain how much he loves this girl, he knows he'll never be able too, but he can try to show it to her. If he has to do it as Adrien, as Chat Noir, and as everyone else in the entire world to show Marinette how wonderful she is... He'd do it in a heartbeat and not regret it for a single moment.

"Thank you, My Lady," He whispers, "for being you. You're perfect for me."

* * *

"You're not disappointed?" She asks after a moment, Chat realizing it was too cold for her outside and gently lead her into her room, wrapped in a blanket on her chaise.

She has her head on her chest, his arms wrapped around her and never letting go.

They've been unwilling to leave this position for what seems like hours. She's too warm and the snow is too uninviting for him to want to leave, and Marinette shouldn't be alone right now either. He's welcome to stay here and hold her for as long as she wants him too.

She's not crying anymore, a fact for which he is eternally grateful for, and he's even made her chuckle a few times. They need to talk about this, to help her get through whatever's she's going through that made her think those thoughts, but for now he just wants to see her smile.

"Disappointed?"

"I'm just... Boring old Marinette."

Chat shakes his head, "You're never boring. How could I be disappointed in a wonderful, beautiful girl?"

"It isn't just because..." She pauses, "I'm Ladybug?"

"You're Ladybug and you're Marinette," He hums, "two of my best friends in the entire world. I didn't think it'd be possible to have double the best friends."

"You know me?" Marinette asks,

Chat bites his tongue.

"Can you keep a secret, princess?" He holds onto her tighter, only watching slightly as Marinette's bluebell eyes stare right into his green ones.  
Marinette's look is intense, "If you don't want too... Don't feel as if you have to tell me your identity. I... I didn't mean to tell you mine today either..."

"My name's Adrien," Chat says after deliberate thinking, "It's meow-some to meet you!"

He's surprised by Marinette's sudden laughter, a small but definitely not unwelcome smile lighting up her entire face.

"You're a loser," She smiles, sighing into his chest, "It explains your poetry. Cheesy but very Adrien-like. How didn't I find it out sooner?"

Chat is relieved and he feels like screaming with how happy it is, "Are you disappointed in me?"

"Disappointed I didn't put two and two together," Marinette sighs, "And after I'd spent all those years chasing off Chat because I liked Adrien Agreste. How silly."

Chat's surprised by the news, "You like m-me?"

"I love you, chaton," She says simply, as if it was the easiest thing in the world, "But don't expect I'm going to come up there and kiss your right now."

Adrien smiles and kisses her forehead, opting to say nothing for now.

"Are you okay?" He asks after a few minutes pass.

"No," Marinette sighs, "I'll get there."

"Do you..." Adrien's shy to ask, "Do you still feel any of that?"

Marinette shakes her head, "I just... I don't feel like I deserve a lot of what I have."

"Then I guess I'll have to show you from now on," Adrien squeezes her, "To make sure you know just special you are to me."

"Is that okay?" Adrien whispers.

She finds his hand underneath the blanket and holds it tenderly.

"That's okay."


End file.
